Indiana State Police are investigating the death of a Louisville woman in the Jackson County Jail in Indiana. ISP stated on Sunday confirming the death of Ta'neasha Chappell, a 23-year-old Jackson County Jail inmate who died on Friday after being taken from the jail to Schneck Memorial Hospital in Seymour.
Chappell was apprehended on May 26 following a multi-county police chase in which she allegedly stole items from the Edinburgh outlet mall before leading troopers on a drive through Clark County to Jackson County, according to the ISP. Chappell was transferred from the prison to Schneck Medical Center on July 16 and died later that day. There was no information on Chappell's sickness.
The woman's family wants the truth about her death with Indiana police custody
The Jackson County Sheriff's Department called ISP's Versailles post, seeking a one-day death investigation. On Sunday, an autopsy was done, and ISP investigators are awaiting the report and toxicology findings. Chappell's relatives stated they spoke to her a few days before she died, and she looked well and happy.
Ta'Neasha Chappell's death is being investigated by her family after claiming they got several unsettling phone calls from her before her death last Friday. WHAS11 reports Ta'Neasha was jailed at the Jackson County Jail in southern Indiana and died after being transferred by ambulance to a Seymour hospital.
The investigators who contacted the family about Ta'Neasha's death, according to the family, were nonspecific about the circumstances surrounding her death, just saying that she became ill and eventually died. Her family members claim that her phone calls over the last two months have disturbed them since they believe Ta'Neasha's worries have gone unheard.
Although autopsy findings have yet to be completed, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department has called Indiana State Police to begin an inquiry into her death.
Indiana State Police detectives are still investigating the circumstances surrounding Chappell's death. Chappell's mother, Lavita McCain, told the outlet that her daughter was in good health the last time they spoke, a day before she died and that she was experiencing issues with other inmates.
The Indiana woman's family claimed they got phone calls from her while she was in jail during the previous two months, and they were concerned that her pleas for assistance went unanswered. On May 26, at 12:45 p.m., the Indiana State Police-Versailles Post responded to a complaint about the theft of many goods from the Polo Ralph Lauren Store at the Premium Outlet Mall near Edinburgh, Indiana.
Per Newsweek via MSN, Trooper Korry Clark discovered the suspect, Ta'Neasha Chappell, going southbound on I-65 in Jackson County in a white Chevrolet Impala at around 1 p.m. local time, according to an Indiana State Police report. Clark made a traffic stop just north of the Seymour exit, but Chappell allegedly escaped.
She was followed southward on I-65 through Jackson, Scott, and Clark Counties at speeds of up to 100 mph. After a 30-minute chase, Chappell's automobile careered off the road near Clarksville, Indiana, at exit 7 on I-65.
After being tased, the 23-year-old allegedly attempted to leave on foot but was quickly apprehended. According to the police report, many suspected stolen items worth over $3,000 were discovered in the car.
Chappell was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts of resisting law police. According to an Indiana State Police news release, the Jackson County Sheriff's Department called investigators from the ISP Versailles post on Saturday, July 17, and requested that detectives launch an investigation into Chappell's death.
Breonna Taylor's attorneys represent the Indiana woman who dies in jail
The attorneys that represented the family of Breonna Taylor have been engaged by the family of a woman who died in police custody recently. It was the latest twist in the case of Ta'Neasha Chappell, a 23-year-old Louisville mother who died Friday after spending more than a month in an Indiana jail.
Sam Aguiar, a Louisville lawyer who was part of the legal team that helped obtain a record police settlement for Taylor's family, said on Facebook on Wednesday that he, another Louisville lawyer Lonita Baker, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump were all working on Chappell's case. Hours later, the attorneys released a joint statement comparing Chappell's death to that of Sandra Bland, a motorist discovered dead in a Texas jail in 2015 after a violent arrest for a nonviolent traffic infraction.
They reported a scenario in Jackson County, Indiana, with law enforcement that implies wrongdoing at worst and incompetence at best. Chappell allegedly feared for her life and left a noose on her bed, according to her sister, Ronesha Murrell, News One reported.
Efforts to reach the prison about the allegations were unsuccessful, according to Murrell. Despite these allegations, Murrell stated Chappell was in high spirits when they last spoke two weeks before she died.
Since late May, Chappell has been detained on a $4,000 cash bail. On July 8, her attorney's plea to reduce her bond was rejected. Police have not provided any more information, and they are accused of failing to notify Chappell's family of her death until more than two hours after it occurred.
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